This Article is From Oct 01, 2013

Supreme Court contempt notice to former army chief VK Singh on age row

Supreme Court contempt notice to former army chief VK Singh on age row

File photo of General VK Singh

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to former army chief General VK Singh for allegedly criticising its handling of his case against the government over a dispute about his age.

The General has been asked to appear in court on the 23rd of this month with his response.

The judges today said of his comments, "The same amounts to scandalising the court and prima facie V K Singh's statement tends to scandalise the judiciary and also tends to lower the authority of the court."

Recently, in an interview, the General allegedly faulted the Supreme Court judges who heard his case to prove he was a year younger than the army records showed. If he had won, he would have been eligible for an extra year in office.

But after the Supreme Court judges indicated they were likely to rule against him, he dropped his case.

General Singh retired in May 2012 after a series of public run-ins with the government. One of them was his decision to sue the government for refusing to accept that his age was wrongly reflected in army records. If he had won, he would have been eligible for another year in office. He dropped his case in January after Supreme Court judges indicated he was likely to lose.

There were other mega-controversies. He set up a military intelligence unit with 30 members that was accused of spying on the Defence Ministry. An explosive letter from him to the Prime Minister warning of severe deficiencies in arms and ammunition was leaked. General Singh also suggested that Defence Minister AK Antony showed no interest in ordering an inquiry after the army chief told him that he had been offered a 14-crore bribe to clear a deal for military trucks.
.